R.J. Grey Junior High School

As we head into our first extended vacation of the year, I want to thank you for your ongoing support of our students, our teachers, and our school. While no day is ever perfect, by and large, our students are responsible, caring, and kind young adults who come to school eager to learn. Our teachers and staff model on a daily basis what it means to work hard for a greater purpose, particularly, to meet the needs of our students. And to our family community, you support our work by sending happy, healthy kids to school every day. You respond when we need to talk about your child and when we have needs in the community - including through our recent coat drive and toy drive. 

Last year at this time, I shared a poem that I had come across through some of my own professional learning. I think it still fits this year as a helpful image of what a school vacation means to many of us. As is the case with most poems, the reader can interpret parts of it how they wish. In light of the vacation and a hopeful respite on the horizon, the idea of creating space for our flames to grow stronger resonates with me. Personally, some time away from RJ Grey will help create the breathing space that will lead to a stronger fire in 2025.

FIRE

What makes a fire burn

is space between the logs,

a breathing space.

Too much of a good thing, 

too many logs

packed in too tight

can douse the flames

almost as surely 

as a pail of water would.

So building fires

requires attention 

to the spaces in between,

as much as to the wood.

When we are able to build 

open spaces 

in the same way 

we have learned 

to pile on the logs, 

then we can come to see how 

it is fuel, and absence of the fuel 

together, that make fire possible.

We only need to lay a log 

lightly from time to time. 

A fire 

grows 

simply because the space is there, 

with openings 

in which the flame 

that knows just how it wants to burn 

can find its way.

-Judy Brown

I hope you are able to relax with friends and family over the coming days. I look forward to the New Year and the new things that will come our way. 

With the upcoming vacation and holiday season, I know some of you have considered or have already made plans for giving gifts to teachers. My own wife has planned all the small tokens of appreciation for my kids' teachers, dance teachers, bus drivers, etc. However, I want to be clear that no RJ Grey teacher expects gifts, and no family should ever feel obligated to provide one! I would recommend, if you have a few moments, that a kind email or word of thanks to a teacher goes quite a long way, whether around the holidays or at any time of the year! If you are committed to giving a gift, please know that there are state ethics laws that limit gifts that teachers, coaches, and staff are permitted to receive. School staff cannot accept gifts from a single family that amount to $50 or more in value for the entire school year. 

We have a full week next week, with an early dismissal at 11:10 on Friday, December 20th. If your travel plans include heading out of town before next Friday at 11:10, and your child will miss school at some point, please be sure to be in touch with our Main Office. While your child may tell their teachers that they’ll be out, it is important to let the Main Office know too, so that we know who to expect each day. You can write to us at [email protected].

On Wednesday, January 8, 2025 from 4:00-7:00 p.m., we will be hosting a Vision of a Graduate workshop where we will examine the results of the ThoughtExchange, and talk more about the opportunities that await our students after their time in ABRSD.  

The result of this workshop will be the development of an ABRSD Vision of a Graduate that delineates the skills and knowledge that our community most values which will then be explicitly mapped onto our continuously evolving curricular experiences for our students.  For the workshop, we are seeking participants in our community with many perspectives who represent: 

• 8 current high school students

• 8 alumni who graduated between 2017 and 2023

• 12 family members or caregivers

• 15 educators

• 12 community members

• 12 people from businesses or trades

• 12 people from higher education